The Swiss Structured Products Association (SSPA) has added EFG Bank to its ranks as an active member and new buy-side representative. With EFG’s membership, the Swiss trade body continues to expand its buy-side coverage which now includes seven members.
The SSPA now has a total of 41 members, ranging from issuers, the buy-side to markets and partners. Headquartered in Zurich, EFG International – with its Swiss entity EFG Bank – is a global private banking group offering private banking and asset management services, including a wide array of structured products.
‘At EFG, we strive to provide dedicated solutions for all our clients’ needs. In this context, structured products play an important role in giving us the necessary flexibility to easily adapt them in order to meet specific objectives,’ said Maurizio Moranzoni (pictured), head of global markets at EFG International. ‘They form an integral part of the value-enhancing range of products that we are offering to our clients. Therefore, we are delighted to actively contribute to further developing and shaping this industry in Switzerland.’
EFG International is also seeking to leverage its dedicated investment solutions and global markets functions to offer its clients tailored financial solutions and direct market access with more than 280 investment solutions and more than 70 global markets professionals, operating in around 40 locations worldwide.
The SSPA represents the interests of the most important market participants, who represent over 95% of the market volume in structured products in Switzerland.
The SSPA is currently focused on expanding its buy-side capacities through members with long-standing and specialised expertise, according to the trade body’s president Georg von Wattenwyl.
“[We are] continuously growing industry representation [and onboarding] key players in the Swiss market which are not yet member of the association,” he said, adding that short term initiatives include the development of a landscape for future activities around education and the perception and image of structured products.
The SSPA is also working to establish a cost transparency concept for Swiss pension funds and is engaged in ongoing discussions with the supervisor of Swiss pension funds, as well as contributing to the ongoing regulatory discussion around the Financial Services Act (Finsa) at a national level and other upcoming guidelines at a European level.
There are 21 products marketed by EFG subsidiaries on SRP’s Swiss database with an estimated value of US$65m mainly linked to baskets of share, single equity shares as well as credit and funds. EFG’s preferred underlying is the Engie stock followed by Orange, Veolia Environnement, Swisscom, and Zurich Insurance Group which have been delivered mainly via knockout and worst of structures as well as protected trackers, reverse convertibles and fixed upside strategies.